“You know, I think I’ve changed my mind. Gotten to the point where just killing doesn’t satisfy me anymore.”
If only I had my spirit armor…but I need to calm myself first.
“Rejoice, Princess Knight from a backwater country. If I’m your first, then you’ll get a taste of a real man before I kill you. Can’t have you dying without learning what it means to be a woman, eh?”
He grabbed her wrists, twisting them upward.
“H-have you no shame? You’re a knight, are you not? To fall so far and commit such despicable acts—” Seras said as she struggled.
“Enough with your singing, little bird!”
Gizun slapped her hard across the face.
“Ngh…”
“Now you listen to me. Try anything, and my dragon’s gonna pin you down for me—with his claws. You want to do this the painless way, lie there and don’t struggle.”
“…”
“Ahh, to think the day would come I’d get to taste a beautiful and noble holy knight ! Thank the gods for all they’ve done to guide me here!” He laughed. “Let’s get down to b—”
“Paralyze!”
“Wh-wha…?”
That voice. It’s…
He appeared from the bushes, his hand extended.
“Hey,” he said. “You’re late.”
Mimori Touka
THE ROAR OF DRAGONS FILLED the air. I ran full speed toward them, easily following the sound through the forest.
This speed and stamina… I really must be getting faster with all these stat modifiers.
Seras wriggled out from under the black-armored dragon knight. I hadn’t included her in my Paralyze targeting, so she could still move.
This skill is way too convenient.
“To—”
She stopped herself from saying my name. Smart not to say it in front of an enemy.
“Thank you for saving me.” She bowed respectfully.
“I’m just glad I made it in time. So, he’s one of those Black Dragon Knight guys?” I looked down at him to give Seras some privacy as she fixed her clothes.
“Yes—a knight of the Bakoss Empire.”
“Huh. Is he one of the Elite Five, do you think?”
“No, he told me he was vice-chief to one of them.”
I looked over at Seras, who was now standing beside me. “Are you okay? Looks like he gave you some trouble.”
“Why did you come here?” asked Seras, staring down at the frozen dragon knight. She still looked wary of him, even paralyzed.
“Poison.”
Non-lethal for now, at least for him. Lethal mode for the dragon mount.
Dragon knight dealt with, I turned back to Seras to answer.
“There were rumors flying all over Mils—people had a pretty good idea of where you’d run off to. I came to find you.”
Seras’s expression grew more serious and dark.
“That’s not what I’m trying to ask. I want to know wh—”
“I waited for you,” I interrupted her.
“Sorry?”
“Sleep,” I said, knocking the knight and his dragon unconscious. Don’t want them hearing what we’re about to say.
Seras looked down at the ground sheepishly.
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t realize… Why did you come here?”
“I hired you as my bodyguard, didn’t I? From what I heard in Mils, you didn’t run away and betray me or anything. So I came to get you.”
“Squee! ♪”
Piggymaru squeaked happily, popping out of my robes.
“D-don’t you understand? If you stay with me, you…”
“You’re being hunted by the Black Dragon Knights, right?”
“Th-that’s right. You need to get away from me as fast as you can. The man lying here is the only one who knows about you. You can still run and save yourself!”
“Can’t you just give yourself a new face again and come with me?”
“I could, but… My spirit of light was confused by the illusion breaker at the Baron’s mansion. I cannot draw on its power at the moment.”
“When will you be able to calm it down?”
“I…don’t know.” Seras took a small pouch from her bag.
“I’m sorry, but you must allow me to cancel our contract. Please, take this blue dragonstone back.” Seras looked pained as she laid a hand on her chest. “If you stay with me, I’ll only put you in more danger!”
“To be honest, I just don’t want the trouble.”
“E-exactly! Staying with me will bring you nothing but trouble!”
I scratched my head.
“No, I mean I don’t want the trouble of finding another bodyguard. It’ll be tough to find one as skilled as you.”
“…”
Seras was speechless for a moment, but she quickly recovered and doubled down.
“H-head north, and you’ll find the capital of Ulza. There will be plenty of capable mercenaries for you to hire there! If you need more money, I can tell you of a place where you’ll be able to exchange this blue dragonstone for coin, and—”
I figured she knew some way to exchange gemstones.
“Hey, Seras, whose problem do you think this is?”
“P-problem…?”
“The reason you want to cancel the contract. Is it my problem or yours?”
“It is entirely my problem.”
“Then why should I care about it? I accept the terms as they stand.”
“Sir Hati!”
“If we’re going to do this, you should take off your clothes.”
Seras froze, her eyes opened wide in shock.
“What?”
I took off my backpack and showed her a set of women’s clothes I’d bought earlier.
“They might not fit perfectly, but I brought you this change of clothes. Everybody’s going to remember what you were wearing—you should change before we set off again.”
“Ah, s-so that’s what you meant…” Seras blushed.
Huh? Oh, I get it…
“Sorry, I didn’t make myself clear there, did I.”
“I was a little taken aback for a moment, and…” Seras trailed off, then suddenly remembered that we’d been arguing.
“W-wait a minute now! You’re ignoring me and assuming we’re going to move on together! Have you even been listening? My problems are far more serious than you seem to understand!”
Seras looked down at the dragon knight, twitching in his sleep.
“I know how strong the Black Dragon Knights are,” I said. “They’re the best on the continent, right? I get it. We need to run and hide.”
Seras remained silent.
Looks like I need to push harder.
“Can I ask why you’re going to Yonato?”
For a moment she was quiet.
“There is a port there where I could purchase passage to the west. I need money to pay for that journey,” she confessed.
“So, you aren’t actually joining this holy order thing?”
“I’m not. I apologize for lying to you.”
Not surprising. I figured as much.
“So basically, you just need a safe place to hide.”
“That is correct. It’s…” Seras clutched a hand to her chest, “the last order she gave me.”
Sounds like she had somebody who guided her before she had to go on the run.
“I have an idea—why don’t we ask the Forbidden Witch if she can hide you?”
“Th-the Forbbiden Witch…?”
“Nobody knows exactly where she is, do they? She must be great at keeping herself hidden.”
“I suppose so…”
We can always give her some blue dragonstones in exchange. To be honest, that lie-detecting spirit that Seras has with her could come in really handy in future, especially when we meet this witch. Seras is easy to work with, too—I might not get so lucky with someone else.
I looked Seras straight in the eyes.
“We should find the Forbidden Witch to figure out how she conceals herself so well. The Land of the Golden-Eyed Monsters is so dangerous that people try not to travel through there, right?”
There are dangerous monsters all over the place, but I can probably take them all down with my skills—and I’ll be even safer with Seras by my side.
“I need to go through the Land of the Golden-Eyed Monsters to find somebody who can read the ancient language on these scrolls. And if there aren’t many people there, it’d be a great place to hide.”
“You might be right, but…”
“Will you continue on as my bodyguard, then?”
“Sir Too-ka…why does it have to be me?”
I hesitated a moment. “You remind me of my foster mother.”
“Your foster mother?”
“Yeah. I was abandoned by my real parents, and my foster parents took me in and raised me. To my real parents, I was a burden and they resented me, but my foster parents were so kind and gentle. I’ll never forget what they did for me—they’re amazing people.”
The memories came flooding back, and I couldn’t help but keep talking.
“You don’t look or sound like her, and you have different personalities, but…you feel the same to me, somehow.”
How you’re smart, but you rush into danger without thinking.
Seras will be a good bodyguard, and her spirits’ abilities might be useful. But if I’m honest, the real reason I’m here is…
“If I just walked away from you, it would feel like I was walking away from her. It wouldn’t feel right.”
Seras smiled, her face lit up, almost dazzling.
“Sir Too-ka…you really are kind.”
“I’m just…a little partial to people who remind me of my foster mother.”
The dragon mount finally breathed its last. I didn’t level up.
“Anyway…I hope we can get some useful information out of this guy,” I said, gesturing to the unconscious dragon knight.
I released the paralysis on the dragon knight’s head and dispelled Sleep. There was still plenty of time left on the paralysis gauge.
“Augh! I… It hurts! It’s burning me!”
I looked down at the man, unable to die from my poison.
Given what he was saying and doing before I paralyzed him, this guy’s bad news. Not to mention that he’s already seen my face. No reason not to kill him.
“Answer our questions truthfully and I’ll save you,” I said lightly.
I’m not lying—I’ll turn that non-lethal setting off and save you from your suffering.
I asked about the Black Dragon Knights—their current condition, strength, location, movements, and future plans.
“You got anything you want to ask?” I asked Seras.
“Who asked you to take my life?” she said.
“Wh-where… Where are the others?”
He’d ignored her question. I took a deep breath.
“I killed them all on my way here.”
“I-impossible!” He moaned in pain. “You? You freakin’ brat… How are you doing this? Who are you?!”
“You hit the nail on the head—I’m just some freakin’ brat.”
“Don’t think you’re going to get away with messing with the Black Dragon Knights! Aggh… You too, holy knight scum! Heh… Heh heh… After they catch you, you’re gonna make a great pet for them. The women you tried to protect in Neah were delicious, too!”
Seras got down on one knee and stared coldly at the knight.
“I’m asking you again. On whose orders are you here?”
He looked taken aback.
“F-fine! I want to see her face when the Holy Knight of Neah learns the truth—”
A chill ran down my spine.
“Seras!”
Thunk!
A white spear flew from the heavens and pierced Gizun’s skull, killing him instantly. Seras and I jerked back and looked up to the sky—it was all we could do to react.
“What just happened?!”
Three dragons, larger than the one that lay at our feet, cast looming shadows against the sunset. Somewhere in the mass of wings and flesh was something else.
Out of range of any of my skills.
“Seras Ashrain.”
The voice was cold and booming, ringing in my ears.
A man all in white. White clothes, white hair, and a white dragon as his mount. His eyes were a piercing, vivid red.
I looked over at Seras, who stood rooted to the spot in shock.
“I-it can’t be…” she said.
“My name is Civit,” said the white dragon knight. For some reason, he seemed not to be speaking to Seras, but to me. “But I have heard the rabble call me by another name. They say it fits me better,” he said, sounding indifferent. “They call me the Strongest Man in the World.”
Ortola Straumss
ORTOLA STRAUMSS—once ruler of the Holy Empire of Neah—was tortured by nightmares, his unconscious mind revisiting what he couldn’t bear to think of in the day. Days gone by, when he still had the strength to stand and fight…
***
The Holy Empire of Neah and the Bakoss Empire were separated by a long collection of ruins, forming a rough border between them. The golden-eyed monsters came pouring from the ground and the two nations rose as one to fight. Ortola rallied his troops to confront the enemy, just as the Bakoss had done, but Neah arrived too late to the fight. When Ortola arrived on the battlefield, he couldn’t believe his eyes—it was as if some vengeful god had sent their wrath from above and created a hell on earth.
Amongst the wreckage stood a young man with fiery red eyes, drenched in the blood of the monsters he’d slain. He reveled in the carnage, ripping the fearsome golden-eyed monsters limb from limb like they were children’s toys and mocking the monsters who tried to flee from him.
“Why do you run?! Have you no pride?! Fiendish monsters indeed, bringing shame to your fallen comrades! Why won’t you face me?!”
The young man cut the monsters down one by one, drenching himself in their blood, crying out in despair, grief-stricken and alone. He wanted enemies—Ortola would learn that soon enough.
The young man looked at him. Even now, Ortola could remember those piercing red eyes. Civit saw a ruler, and he expected strength.
He approached Ortola—nobody tried to stop him, because nobody could. The young man stared at the emperor with a burning, raging desire to fight, but it faded to nothing in an instant.
“You’re weak.” His voice faltered and his eyes dropped, as if he were disappointed to his very core. When he raised his head again, he stretched his arm toward Ortola.
“Give them to me.”
His expression was deadly serious.
“Give me the strongest your country has to offer.”
***
“Aaah—!”
Ortola jerked awake in his silent bedroom, his skin prickling with cold sweat.
He was in a lakeside mansion in the southern part of the empire. Since the Bakoss invasion, the former Emperor of Neah lived a quiet life in “retirement.” To the north lay his former domain, his palace taken over by the Black Dragon Knights. The better half of Neah territory had been allotted to them.
The Black Dragon Knights…that young man is their leader now. What a terrifying thought.
Several years after that day on the battlefield, the Goddess Vicius visited Neah, and Ortola and Civit Gartland met once more. During her visit, monsters came pouring from the ruins east of the capital. Some had human shapes and roamed the countryside, spreading fear and destruction wherever they went. Most of the knights of Neah were away from the capital, and too few remained to handle the outbreak.
“I’m afraid there’s no other way—I will deal with the problem personally. It’s lucky for you that I’m here to save the day, Emperor Ortola,” the Goddess said. Her words sent a wave of relief through him.
Those humanoid monsters are incredibly dangerous—my kn
ights would have suffered heavy losses in battle against them.
Ortola had his doubts whether mortal humans could really defeat such foes.
But the Goddess? She’ll be able to protect us from them…
He would dispatch what troops he had to the area, of course—appearances needed to be maintained—but they wouldn’t have to bear the brunt of the fighting.
When they hurried to the ruins to confront the monsters, though, Ortola couldn’t have imagined what he would find.
It was a mountain of death—a mountain of monster corpses, already being set upon by the birds. It was a waking nightmare made of rotting flesh. In the midst of the heap, he saw human faces twisted in terrible agony, now frozen that way in death.
“Did he…do all this…?”
There the young man stood, silent and resentful, plunging his spear into the skulls one by one, as if none of it had been enough for him.
“Give me the strongest your country has to offer,” he said, didn’t he? He’s grown in both age and power, and now…now he is perfect.
“Is he even still human?” Ortola was so shocked that the words slipped out before he could think better of it.
“That is Civit Gartland, Strongest Man in the World. He has no divine blood, no heroic ancestry…it may even be beyond my powers to explain his strength to you,” the Goddess said, smiling absently.
“If the evil ever rises again, I will return to Alion and summon heroes from another world to defeat it, yet I fear that for raw power, none will surpass Civit Gartland. I have no doubt that someday soon, he will rise to lead the Black Dragon Knights.”
She looked at the white-haired young man, who had a dark craving flashing in his red eyes.
“Someday he may truly live up to his potential and cause, well…I’m not sure. Civit Garland is quite incomprehensible, even for the divine such as I.”
“Th-that much… That man, he…”
Even from the Goddess’s perspective, he’s a monster.
Ortola was terrified to have him as a neighbor.
“Ah, but the captain of your Band of Holy Knights is quite the talented individual herself, is she not? I’ve heard such good things about her.”
Ortola shook his head, letting the memories fade. Getting out of bed, he tied his gown lightly around his waist. His terrible premonition had come true, and the Bakoss Empire now completely controlled what had once been his territory. Despite that, he believed the worst had been avoided.
Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells (Light Novel) Vol. 2 Page 12